Aussie Home Values Rise $138bil

Capital city home prices rose an average of 2.0% in the June Quarter, Australian Bureau of Statistics figures show.

The increase lifts the total value of the housing stock by $138 billion in the quarter to $6.045 trillion and by just over $1 trillion since the first quarter of 2014.

The average price of Australia’s 9.7 million dwellings is now $623,000, up from $604,700 a year ago.

In the past year, Sydney values rose on average 3.6%; Melbourne was up 8.2%; Brisbane rose 4.3%; Adelaide increased 3.5%; Perth was down 4.8%; Hobart was up 4.9%; Darwin fell 6.5%; and Canberra was up 6.0%.

Home Building Remains Strong

The boom in housing construction is showing few signs of ending, with building materials group Brickworks saying residential building activity is at record levels, driven by low interest rates, population growth and rising house prices.

Chairman Rob Millner says Brisbane and Melbourne “have probably run their race,” particularly with apartment blocks, but the market for detached housing remains robust along the eastern seaboard.

“NSW has 18 months to two years to go,” says Brickworks managing director Lindsay Partridge, “with the shortage less in Victoria. Builders say they have up to a year’s work – in some areas the backlog is up to two years.”